In the fourth batched tender, two adjacent Executive Condominium (EC) sites in Yishun Street 51 were finally awarded to two different bidders following two consecutive batched tender processes in which each pair of adjacent sites were swept by the same developer.

Batched tender, or a tender process in which the tenders for different sites with some common characteristics close at the same time, was re-introduced last year after a long hiatus when it was the norm during the 1990s, and in existence up till 2002. Back then it was probably done for ease of administrative purposes. This time round, it is purely to curb the runaway property prices. The authorities believe that having the same closing date for different sites will prevent developers from placing bids for all the sites for fear of winning all of them. This will lead to reduced competition, and hence bid prices.

The first set of land sites to be sold under the batched tender system was three EC sites (one in Jurong and two in Punggol) in last July. However, instead of having the desired effect of moderating prices, quite the reverse took place. The Jurong site in the Lakeside district, or Yuan Ching Road/Tao Ching Road, had a record-breaking bid of $418.53 psf ppr, surpassing the previous EC land record of $392 psf ppr for the Tampines Trilliant site. The two Punggol sites, while not having earth-shattering bids, likewise, saw high winning bids of $355 psf ppr and $356 psf ppr, respectively.

In the second batched tender, two adjacent land plots in Upper Serangoon View for private homes were snapped up by Kingsford Development Pte Ltd, by a premium of 16 per cent and 12.7 per cent above the second highest bid. At $24.04 million and $18.73 million for a land area of 165,125 sq ft and 128,644 sq ft, respectively, in the Outside Central Region (OCR), and nowhere near a MRT station it was deemed a somewhat extravagant price.

The third batched tender, in February this year, was for two adjacent EC plots in Choa Chu Kang Grove when MCL Land seized both sites by a slender margin of 0.5 per cent and 1.8 per cent above the next highest bid, paying a bid of $375.04 psf ppr and $388.94 psf ppr for the pair of sites. However, it was regarded as a reasonable price and indicated a slowing EC market.

In the latest batched tender, the pair of EC sites in Yishun saw winning bids within market’s expectations.

A joint venture between Verwood Holdings – a subsidiary of City Developments – and TID Residential clinched Parcel A for $16.58 million, or $330.13 psf, 2.1 per cent above the second-highest bid. Parcel B was won at a bid of $17.11 million, or $334.57 psf – a 4.5 percentage points above the next bid – by JBE Holdings.